Oak Harbor man charged in choking incident

A 71-year-old Oak Harbor man is accused of choking his wife while threatening to kill her and then himself, court documents state.

Prosecutors charged Edward Anderson in Island County Superior Court May 12 with second-degree assault by strangulation, a domestic violence crime. He pleaded not guilty May 13.

Island County Deputy James Scott responded to the alleged victim’s 911 call on May 7. The woman claimed that Anderson had attacked her when she entered their Special Place home. She said he grabbed her, threw her to the floor and punched her in the face several times, the report states.

The woman claimed Anderson then put his hands around her neck and started to choke her while telling her “he was going to kill her and then himself,” the deputy wrote. The woman escaped and ran for the back door, where Anderson tackled her. She escaped again, ran to a neighbor’s house and called 911.

After he was arrested, Anderson wrote a statement admitting to throwing his wife to the floor, choking her and hitting her, the report states. Anderson said he “lost it” and believed she was having a relationship with another man. The deputy wrote that Anderson was on probation from a previous domestic assault.

Anderson is out of jail after posting a $10,000 bail bond. In convicted of the charge, he could face from three to nine months in jail under the standard sentencing range.

Contact Whidbey News Times Assistant editor Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewsgroup.com or 360.675.6611 ext. 5056.

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